Converting Cartoon Cash to Hard Currency

Musicians need to beware.  Animators may be Jamaica’s next big cultural export.

KingstOOn is the catalyst for a revolution.  Following the inaugural staging of the animation expo in 2013, UWI, UTech and even HEART joined Edna Manley in offering courses in animation in anticipation of the animation boom likely to impact Jamaica’s creative sector.

Potential Markets

Hon Julian Robinson, MP

Rhetoric aside, Jamaica is well poised to tap into the multi-billion dollar global animation market.  The country has strong relationships with the larger markets like the UK and Japan, and well suited to tap the largest market of them all, the USA.  “Because of our proximity to North America, we are seen as a good fit,” explained Former State Minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Julian Robinson, MP.

He explained that our proximity is not limited to geographic factors.  Jamaicans have a strong appreciation and understanding of North American culture.   Our population speaks the language (and in some cases the ‘twang’), we have a creative mass and have a strong education foundation.

The tertiary education community, recognizing the potential, has moved quickly to provide courses designed to harness the natural creativity of the population at various levels.  The Government backed HEART Trust NTA, the prestigious University of the West Indies and other notable institutions have followed the lead of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in introducing animation courses.

Market Opportunities

The immediate potential lies in the outsourcing of animation projects to local studios and freelancers.  This is a common practice.  “There are a number of studios who have gotten contracts to do the development of animation content,” Robinson further highlighted.  To put it simply, Disney may call up a Jamaican animator and say, “Hey, we have a sequence we need to you do as a piece of a big project.”  The Jamaican sits in his office in Kingston; animates the sequence based on the instructions given; and sends the clip via the internet for inclusion in the overall project.

"Cha-ching!”  Revenues flow directly into Jamaican coffers.

There is also tremendous potential for revenue from immigration.  In this scenario, locally trained (for less than their US counterparts) animators move to the US to work and repatriate funds to loved ones on the rock.

“Cha-ching!”  Revenues flow into Jamaica.

The most lucrative, but arguably hardest to achieve opportunity, is the export of local creative content from an influential culture recognized and copied all over the world.

“Cha-ching!” Revenues flow into Jamaica.

Market Catalyst

This is the climate in which the second staging of the KINGSTOON animation festival takes place.  The multitude of activities, screenings, workshops, lectures, presentations and booths fall within three tracks: Learn. Earn. Display.

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Project Agro Takes Farmers to Digital Market

Developed by a group of young tech entrepreneurs, Project Agro is an innovative RSS to SMS tool that connects farmers to customers seeking agricultural goods.

At its core, registered buyers can place their orders and pre-orders in an online platform which is then routed to an appropriate farmer in the field on his mobile phone.  Neither internet access nor smartphones are necessary because Project Agro wisely makes use of SMS rather than data to ensure the widest possible access for farmers.

The system has the potential to ensure that, especially smaller farmers, don’t miss orders, properly manage their production and have a guaranteed market for the produce or livestock.  On the buyer side, hotels, supermarkets and other larger purchasers can efficiently consolidate their purchase orders into bulk orders while guaranteeing supply.

In addition to sending order alters, the platform can be used to broadcast relevant information about natural disasters, agricultural disease management and other details.

The innovative concept was born out of Startup Weekend Jamaica staged by ConnectiMass and sponsored by Columbus Communications.  The team of System Architect Jermaine Brown, Janice McLeod, Jermaine Henry and Adrian Thompson are in the process of beta testing the business concept with a  view to launch early next year.

On launch, the portal is expected to have the support of Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and other notable government agencies.